About Us
A Special Touch Funeral and Cremation Services
Sharon Mace, owner of A Special Touch Funeral & Cremation Service, grew up in San Leandro. After high school she went to college and studied early childhood development, but ended up working at a bank. “At the bank, I did a little of everything,” she said, “I was a teller and worked in the loan and collections departments.”
Eventually she met and married her husband, Larry (the two have been married now for 28 years), and the couple became foster parents for medically-fragile infants. They ended up adopting four children, now all in their teens.
Sharon was a stay-at-home mom until 2002 when she went to work as an office clerk at a mortuary. Never having worked in this type of business before, she had a steep learning curve but caught on quickly.
A Natural Talent for Comforting and Nurturing
“Over time, people started asking for me when they came in,” she said. “The owner discovered how good I was at working with families. I realized that I can empathize with people who are grieving. I’ve lost loved ones. I understand what they’re going through. I recognize who this person was to them.”
Sharon attended a course to learn mortuary law, then studied and passed the test to become a funeral director. In 2004 she decided it was time to open her own mortuary. “I like to be able to do things my way. I am different from most funeral directors. I help people start their grieving process and I help them through it.”
Seeing that there was a need for a mortuary in Dublin, California, Sharon set up shop there and set about realizing her vision for her new business. “I wanted a welcoming, relaxed place. My office is decorated like my home. We also have a room with a fountain and greenery.”
Helping Others in Their Time of Need
Sharon’s innate skill—her special touch—is in treating her clients as friends, as she would like to be treated in their place. With her intuitive sensitivity and compassion, she gives her clients a safe place to grieve and helps them get through what can be a harrowing experience.
“I don’t feel I’ve been successful until the person across from me laughs or smiles,” she said. “I don’t treat their loss with levity, but I want them to know it’s okay to smile.”
Sharon often gifts her clients with a “relaxation basket,” containing a candle, wine and bath products. “I tell them to go home and relax, take a nice bath and just let it go. I even give the basket to male clients and lots of them have come back and told me how much it helped them. I get referrals from clients because of those baskets.”
Sharon’s husband, Larry, also works at A Special Touch. “Larry drives the hearse and goes to all the services. He makes sure all the logistics are taken care of while I’m helping the family.”
Customized, Unique Memorial Services
A Special Touch Funeral & Cremation Service offers a plethora of services to their clients including cremation, funeral services, scattering of remains, veteran’s memorial services and more.
A wide selection of caskets and urns are also available. In fact, A Special Touch Funeral & Cremation Service recently became a distributor for Major League Baseball Urns—MLB approved in the colors of popular baseball teams. In addition, she offers American Kennel Club urns for favorite pets, as well as Star Trek-themed urns. One option recently introduced is their “Complete Diamond Funeral,” which includes limousines, flowers, motorcycle escorts, casket and embalming, everything you need for $5999. And, in a world increasingly concerned with the environment and green living, A Special Touch has begun offering “Green” funerals and burials, in which the body is not embalmed and is buried in a casket that is biodegradable.
Highest Customer Satisfaction Ratings
A natural nurturer, Sharon Mace has created a business that is special and unique, and her humor, love and empathy have helped many people through a difficult time. A Special Touch Funeral & Cremation Service has earned the prestigious Diamond Certified designation, awarded only to those companies rated highest in customer service and satisfaction. The company is also on the Better Business Bureau’s Honor Roll.
Sharon was recently certified as a pre-planning consultant and is a member of both the California Funeral Director’s Association and the National Funeral Director’s Association. Her nurturing nature and grace calm and comfort all who come to her in their time of need. With understanding, empathy, humor and kindness Sharon Mace is ready to honor and celebrate the life of your loved one with you, and help you through your difficult time with compassion, dignity and respect. |
